Greenfield High School - Evergreen / Exponent Yearbook (Greenfield, MA)

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4 THE EXPONENT pleased save that of a British sub¬ ject, will be forever remembered as the “great constitutionalist.” For not only was he a member of the convention of 1780 which formulated the constitution now in force in this state, but also, as Chamberlain says, “fifty millions of people to-day live under a constitution, the essential features of which are after his mod¬ el. Thirty-eight states now have constitutions in no essential respect differing from that which he drafted. And, as his cousin, Samuel Adams’, readiness in action earned him the title of “the father of the Revolu¬ tion,” so John Adams’ readiness in words earned him the title of “the colossus of debate,” and drew forth the glowing tribute of Webster, who characterized his eloquence ah “noble,” “sublime,” and “god-like.” John Quincy Adams, prominent during the early life of our repub¬ lic, and the sixth president of the United States, inherited his father’s readiness of speech and will go down in the ages as “the old man eloquent of the House.” He also followed the steps of his father as a diplomat and statesman. In truth, concerning the first three generations of the Adams family, it has been said that “the synchronism of wars, treaties and ministerships between father and son, is so curious, that in An¬ cient History it would be treated as indubitable confusion of persons.” Perhaps one of John Quincy Adams’ greatest achievements as a states¬ man is the Monroe Doctrine, termed in recent years, the Adams Doctrine, because it has become an established fact that John Quincy Adams, as Secretary of State to Monroe, orig¬ inally formulated the principles set forth in Monroe’s document. Almost equally great, perhaps, was his suc¬ cessful war against the “gag laws” waged against tremendous odds in the National House of Represent¬ atives. Charles Francis Adams, Senior, who reached his prime during the period of the Civil War, and was our ambassador to England at that time, merits the greatest praise for his in¬ valuable services in that country, by which he is considered to have aided the cause of the Union to a greater extent than even the com¬ mander of the Army of the Potomac. The fourth generation from Johi Adams has been represented by four equally gifted and illustrious men, men to whose loss we have as yet scarcely become reconciled. John Quincy Adams, Jr., an able lawyer, has been prominent in the Demo¬ cratic party both in this state and in the nation. Charles Francis Adams,. Jr., a writer by “aptitude,” a law¬ yer by profession, has wrought a nation-wide reform by initiating railroad control legislation, has con¬ tributed to the progress of educa¬ tion as the author of the “Quincy” system of instruction, and has left an everlasting memorial of his sound judgment and clear vision in the present Metropolitan Park system of this state. Henry Adams, the writer and historian, was, perhaps, typical of the family in his love for rebuk¬ ing ideas that he considered errone¬ ous, imparting that characteristic sting to his criticisms which were all the more discomforting because they set forth plain facts, simple, unad¬ orned, and commonplace, but never¬ theless, true. The only son of Charles Francis Adams, Senior, who still lives, is Brooks Adams, the law¬ yer and author. And so closes the roll-call of the great Adamses who have gone be¬ fore. What the “gadfires” yet have in store for Massachusetts only the future knows. Fleeting as our glimpses have been in this hasty en¬ umeration, we cannot fail to recog¬ nize and appreciate the worthy pre¬ cepts and high ideals of this grand old Puritan family, which has lived in its simple, unaffected, “Quincy,” style for so many years at our very doors. Liberty, independence, and freedom will never lack a champion, whilst the unconquerable spirit of the Adamses is burning in our land. The people will never clamor in vain for honest, energetic, capable, public servants, whilst the blood of the Adamses is flowing in our veins. Hu¬ manity, itself, is indebted in a de¬ gree almost beyond human reckon¬ ing, to the wisdom and foresighted¬ ness of men of the Adams caliber. Well might it be said that, “they served their country, not alone be¬ cause that country was their own, but because they knew her duty and her destiny, and knew her cause was the cause of human nature. Such

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THE EXPONENT 3 CLASS MOTTO “Haud ye leal” HONORS Members of the Pro-Merito Society Greenfield High School Class of 1920 Ellen Elsie Pierce, Edwin Metcalf Clapp, Helen Rosella Field, Elizabeth Katherine Loomis, Dorothy Ida Has¬ kins, Gordon Cedric Willard, Norma Winifred Foster, Theresa Agatha Barker, Dorothy Victoria Taylor, Marjorie Salome Sauter, Ellen Me¬ linda Nims, John Norman Alberti, Inez Estella Lee, Edith Gertrude Potter, Eileen Cecelia Donovan, Nor¬ ma Wise Hawkes, Marion Lutheria White, Beulah Gladys Upham. The Greenfield High School re¬ quires 70 credits for graduation. Ed¬ win M. Clapp has taken so many studies during his four years’ course that he has earned 122 credits. GRADUATES College Preparatory Course: The¬ resa Agatha Barker, Edwin Metcalf Clapp, Helen Rosella Field, Norma Winifred Foster, Dorothy Ida Has¬ kins, Ellen Melinda Nims, Ellen Elsie Pierce. Technical Preparatory Course: John Norman Alberti, William Lov- ingdon Barnes, William Edwin Long, Gordon Cedric Willard. Commercial Course: Emilia Vic¬ toria Arrighi, Blanche Eva Bourbeau, Lilia Harriet Campbell, Eileen Ce¬ celia Donovan, Margaret Caroline Eppler, Ruby Belle Hastings, Inez Estella Lee, Fidelia Papillon, Edith Gertrude Potter, Willard Oswald Sei¬ bert, Helen Gertrude Story, Beulah Gladys Upham, Marion Lutheria White, Merle Eugene Wilcox. General Course: Harold Damon At¬ wood, Esther Marion Austin, Harold Davis Beaman, Marjorie Lois Bell, Gordon Harvey Bickford, Harold Walter Bonneville, Faith Elizabeth Burrington, Dorothy May Church, Margaret Elizabeth Class, Roger Wayland Crouch, Mary Monica Crow¬ ley, Isabelle Olive Davenport, Zaidee Pearl De Loach, Philip George Facey, Harold Irving Grousbeck, Marion Ellen Hawkes, Norma Wise Hawkes, Howard Nelson Hewitt, Raymond King Holden, Thelma Jones, Eliza¬ beth Katherine Loomis, Marjorie Florence McLaughlin, John Edward Mazuzan, Edward George Merz, Clarice Lillian Mesick, Kathryn Elizabeth Ryan, Charles Francis St. Lawrence, Marjorie Salome Sauter, Francis Henry Ballou Smead, Dor¬ othy Victoria Taylor, Everett Vernon Thompson, Hall Fowler Ward, Mar¬ ion Elizabeth Woodlock. THE ‘‘GADFLIES” OF MASSA¬ CHUSETTS John Quincy Adams, as a member of the National House of Represent¬ atives in his latter years, records in his diary, “My speech of to-day stung the slaveocracy to madness.” And it has been said of the grandson of this man, Charles Francis Adams, Jr., that “the terseness and pun¬ gency with which he characterized the rush of the tariff-fed swine to the trough must have left a sting under the hide of even the most hardened and greedy of them.” Such tantalizing and stinging criti¬ cisms as the ones referred to here are so characteristic of the Adamses, that it can readily be seen how the immortal Adams family of Massa¬ chusetts has come to be compared to that annoying and provoking tor¬ ment, the gadfly. But the significant and permanent services of the Adamses do not lie in the realm of mere destructive criticism; they lie in a much loftier realm, that of “constructive states¬ manship.” Henry Cabot Lodge spoke the truth when he said that “to fol¬ low even in the most meagre outline the careers, or endeavor to describe in the most superficial way the char¬ acters and achievements of John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and Charles Francis Adams, would be to review the civil and diplomatic history of the Thirteen Colonies and of the United States during more than a hundred years.” Let it suffice, then, to characterize in a few words the successive generations of this extraordinary family, which is con¬ sidered to furnish one of the most remarkable examples in history of hereditary energy and strength of character. John Adams, of the Revolution¬ ary Era, and the second president of the United States, who said that we might regard him in any light we

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THE EXPONENT 5 men are of no country ; they belong to mankind r’ Most fitting are these lines of tribute and inspiration, in¬ scribed beneath the bust of John Adams in the old meeting-house at Quincy: ‘From lives thus spent, thy earthly duties learn; From fancy ' s dreams to active duty turn; Let freedom, friendship, faith thy soul engage. And serve, like them, thy coun¬ try and thy age.” Edwin M. Clapp. ESSAY AND VALEDICTORY GLIMPSES OF GREENFIELD When we think of the great cities of the United States, of the millions of people scattered over the coun¬ try, and most of all when we look nearer, at our own large, rapidly growing town, the fact that but three hundred years have passed since the landing of the Pilgrims, and since the first settlements in this part of the United States were made seems scarcely possible. Although it is not my purpose to give a detailed account of the history of our town, I feel that the story of a town and that of its people are one. If we could look backward over the life of Greenfield, we should find many men worth knowing, some of whom attained distinction in civil and political life even beyond the bound¬ aries of our township and common¬ wealth. I can only skip along, nam¬ ing a few to emphasize what our splendid environment and the inter¬ est taken in the education of our people has done to put Greenfield in the limelight and to make her known as a town which has contained and still harbors men and women of brains, ambition and energy. But our neighbors always see us from a different angle than the world at large does, so I should like to try to show you these people as their neighbors saw them. Though it may surprise some of us a great deal, the truth is that Greenfield used to belong to Deer¬ field. Some of the Deerfield people were attracted by the land near the rivers farther north, and gradually a new settlement was formed near the Green river. The first man to set¬ tle here was Nathaniel Brooks who came in 1686. Another early settler was Joseph Petty, from whom Petty’s Plain takes its name. We can im¬ agine him with a group of fellow- pioneers seated around the fire in Aaron Denio’s tavern. The story is told that one day Denio asked his wife what was in the kettle for din¬ ner. She merely said, ' ‘Water.” He seized the kettle, and running up a hill back of the house threw the ket¬ tle down, exclaiming that she could have her old water. As the meat and vegetables rolled out and all went tumbling down hill. Landlord Denio probably realized that he had satis¬ fied his curiosity but had lost his dinner. Soon after these people had built their houses, the question of school¬ ing was considered. I imagine some of us would like to have been liv¬ ing here then, for people thought that children had had enough educa¬ tion when they were 10 years old. However, they were expected to help at home. Another early consideration of the Greenfield people was having a meeting-house. This was built as soon as possible, and Mr. Edward Billings was the first minister. In reply to the call to settle in Green¬ field, Mr. Billings said he would ac¬ cept, “though there be some circum¬ stances attending my settlement among you that are far from being pleasing.” What was the matter with Greenfield? As the settlement grew, the in¬ habitants wanted to be a separate town, not part of Deerfield. Many and bitter were the discussions, but at last the petition was granted, and the town of Greenfield was incor¬ porated in 1753. A little later, in 1792, the first paper of Greenfield began to be pub¬ lished. Thomas Dickman came to start this paper, which was known as the “Impartial Intelligencer” and later the Greenfield Gazette.” Mr. Dickman was the town’s first post¬ master, and he also kept a book¬ store. One of the promoters of the “Impartial Intelligencer” was Wil¬ liam Coleman. He later went to New York, where he became the law partner of Aaron Burr, and an inti-